Two Rivers at 9a Projects, Todmorden

From 1st – 30th April 2023 IOU’s Two Rivers sculptural sound installation will be exhibited at 9a Projects, Robinwood Mill, Todmorden.

Two Rivers  has been created by IOU in collaboration with artist Richard Wincer, writer Louise Oliver, composer Dan Morrison and sculptor Andy Plant.

The installation  fuses  woodcuts, sculpture, technology, spoken word, and sound art to explore themes of evolution, heritage, legacy – the circle of life, the passage of time, the cycles of nature.

9a Projects is an independent, not-for-profit, contemporary art space, working with regional and national artists and curators to host an annual series of exhibitions. Robinwood Mill is a 19th century spinning mill that retains an atmosphere and energy that attracts a range of  artists and makers and 9a Projects shares the mill with a vibrant community of artist studios, workshop and rehearsal spaces.

9a Projects vision is to provide an independent gallery showing contemporary art in the Upper Calder Valley. Committed to harnessing the valley’s experimental energy, cultivating new appetites and audiences, working with artists, curators and cultural institutions. Its aim is to hold a space for contemporary practice, showing work by established and emerging artists

 One of 9a’s Directors Kelly Loughlin explains “our project is all about the space, 9a, its dimensions and the quality of the light. Taking the space and transforming it into a gallery was a huge step. We’re un-funded but we had a vision, and a commitment to building a space for contemporary art that could attract work on the scale of ‘Two Rivers’. IOU emerged in the 1970s, a fusion of art, performance and community that tore-up the rulebook, and it’s an attitude they still foster.  From our first discussions they saw what we saw in the space , and from that point it was all about making Two Rivers happen here.

Opening times and activities

Two Rivers will be every weekend (excluding Easter Sunday 9th April) from 12PM- 5PM.

Free Events Programme 

Sat 1st April 2023- Exhibition Preview  4pm-7pm
Join us for the exhibition Preview  and an opportunity to visit other artist studios at Robinwood Mill and have a beer at the onsite Eagles Crag Brewery. Light refreshments provided

Sat 15th 2023 12-5pm  Two Rivers Family Day  Activities for children led by IOU artist and writer Louise Oliver

Sat 22nd April 2023 4-5.30pm Artist Talk ( Free but ticket required)

W/C 17 April  the exhibition will be available for school visits – for more information please contact – rachel.rea@ioutheatre.org